February 06, 2013

Report Shows Judicial Vacancies Stretching Into the Thousands of Days

Capitol Hill has been getting most of the heat for the large number of judicial vacancies in the federal courts, but one D.C. advocacy group has issued a new report highlighting delays in the filling the bench before the nominees even reach the Senate.

The Alliance For Justice, a liberal public interest group that watches the nomination process, compiled the nation's vacant judicial spots and how long they have remained open without a nominee.

For those that haven’t paid attention, there are some shockers. For example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has a position that has remained open for 3,200 days because of a dispute between California and Idaho senators about which state the nominee should be from.

There's also the 2,655-day vacancy for a judge spot in the Eastern District of North Carolina, 1,925-day vacancy for a spot in the Western District of Wisconsin, and the 1,619-day vacancy in the Northern District of Georgia.

"This new report shines a spotlight on this often-neglected part of the process," Alliance For Justice President Nan Aron said in a statement. "It illustrates the need for a renewed sense of urgency that should begin the moment a judgeship becomes vacant."